Tea and a Total Lack of Sympathy
Tea and a Total Lack of Sympathy is the 10th episode of the second season and 32nd overall. Will is given by his new boss less than a week to score a high-profile client for the firm. Grace and Jack join Antiques on the Road for fun when a surprise appraisal shocks them. Synopsis Breaking Through to Porcelain Paul Jack and Grace, who are fans of the British show Antiques on the Road, go on set pretending to have an antique teapot for appraisal so Grace could do a funny impression on TV. During the appraisal, they are shocked to learn that the fake teapot Grace bought at a thrift shop is actually a genuine 18th century Meissen teapot worth $30,000. Grace suggests that they split the money but Jack refuses, wanting it all for himself to buy an Audi. When Jack grabs the teapot and runs away, Grace chases him around the set and in the squabble they accidentally destroy a $25,000 dressing screen. I Honestly Love You As a welcoming tradition, Will's new boss Ben Doucette requires him to bring in a high-profile client for the firm or else he will get fired within a week. After Karen drops something off at his office, Will decides to pursue her husband Stanley as a client through Karen. Will pursues Karen drinking at a bar, pretending to run into her accidentally. The two begin to share personal stories including a disastrous performance during an eighth grade talent show where Will sang I Honestly Love You by Olivia Newton-John. When Will starts asking about Stanley's current legal representation, Karen immediately figures out what he is trying to do and he is forced to admit his dilemma at work. Karen takes advantage of the situation and forces Will to sing I Honestly Love You on piano "in a high key" in the middle of the bar full of people. Will complies but soon realizes that Karen is only torturing him because of her sadistic personality and storms out. The next day, as Will prepares to get fired, he learns that Karen has signed to have Walker, Inc. as his client. Cast Main * Eric McCormack (Will Truman) * Debra Messing (Grace Adler) * Sean Hayes (Jack McFarland) * Megan Mullally (Karen Walker) Guest * Gregory Hines (Ben Doucette) * Harry Van Gorkum (Porcelain Paul) * David St. James (Smitty) * Connie Sawyer (Old Woman) * Lauren Tuerk (Woman) * Tony Genaro (Man) * Jo Marie Payton (Mrs. Freeman) Notes * Title is a reference to the 1956 film Tea and Sympathy, based on a 1953 stage play about a closeted gay man whom a married woman falls in love with. However, since it was one of the films developed during the McCarthy era, references to the main character's homosexuality was downplayed. * This is the first episode where Karen uses her alias, Anastasia Beaverhausen. * Antiques on the Road is based on the British show Antiques Roadshow which similarly travel to places to appraise antiques brought in by the locals. * Will sings I Honestly Love You (1974) by Olivia Newton-John. Cultural references * When Grace comes in wearing winter clothes, Will calls her Heidi and asks her not to "tell Grandpapa". This is a reference to the children's novel Heidi, about the titular character who lives in the Swiss Alps. * Jack says Antiques on the Road is the second best show on TV behind "the Creek", referencing teen drama Dawson's Creek. * Ben says that failing to meet the deadline at the firm is how "junior associates become Carl's Jr. associates", after the fast food chain Carl's Jr. Quotes Category:Episodes Category:Season 2